There are two basic types of catamenial tampons used for feminine hygiene currently available on the market. The first type is a digital tampon which is designed to be inserted into a woman's vagina directly by the user's fingers. The second type is a tampon which is designed to be inserted with the aid of an applicator. Typically, tampon applicators have two tubes which are telescoped in one another. Generally, the two tubes are an outer tube, sometimes referred to as the tampon housing tube or inserter tube, and an inner tube, which is sometimes referred to as the plunger tube. The outer tube serves to house or store the tampon prior to use and the inner tube is free to move inside the outer tube and serves to expel the tampon from the outer tube. To use the tampon applicator, the outer tube of the applicator with the tampon contained therein is inserted in the vagina of the user. A force is applied to the inner tube in the direction of the outer tube which causes the inner tube to move inside the outer tube, thereby expelling the tampon from the outer tube into the vagina of the user. Once tampon is expelled, the applicator is then removed by the user from the vagina, leaving the tampon in the vagina of the user.
Currently available tampon applicators are usually provided with a grip area designed to reduce slippage of the applicator in the user's hands. However, the current grip designs only provide reduced slippage in the users hand during one or two of the three stages of tampon insertion with an applicator. That is, current grips only provide slippage protection during insertion of the applicator in the user's vagina, during the expelling process or during removal of the tampon applicator. There is not a currently available tampon on the market which will provide reduced slippage protection during all three stages of inserting a tampon in a user's vagina. For example, some currently available tampon applicators provide an outer tube which has a larger diameter in the portion of the outer tube which has the tampon located therein and a grip area which has a diameter which is smaller than the diameter of the portion of the outer tube which houses the tampon. Some of these two diameter tampon applicators also have a grip area which has an elliptical cross-section or other non-circular shape. While these applicator designs are effective in preventing or reducing slippage of the applicator in the user's hands during insertion of the applicator into the user's vagina, these applicator designs provide virtually no means for preventing or reducing slippage of the applicator during expulsion of the tampon from the outer tube or during removal of the tampon applicator from the user's vagina. Other currently available tampon applicator designs provide protection to the user against slippage or a reduction in slippage in the user's hands during expulsion of the tampon from the tampon applicator or during removal of the tampon applicator from the user's vagina. For example, one currently available design provides a ridge at the end of the outer tube opposite the expulsion end. However, this design does not provide any protection to the user against slippage during insertion of the tampon applicator into the user's vagina. Other tampon applicator designs currently commercially available have raised patterns which are generally raised from the surface of the applicator by less than about 0.25 mm. It has been discovered that this height of the raised pattern is ineffective in preventing or reducing slippage of the tampon applicator in the hands of a user during different stages of inserting a tampon via a tampon applicator.
Further, the technique used to insert a tampon applicator into the vagina, expel a tampon from a tampon application and/or remove the tampon applicator from the vagina, differs from user to user. For example, some users use two hands to insert the tampon applicator into the vagina and expel the tampon from the tampon applicator, while other users use a single hand. Typically, those users who use two hands will grasp the grip area of the tampon applicator between a finger and a thumb, or between the sides of two fingers on one hand and expel the tampon from the tampon applicator by using a finger or a thumb on the other hand. Typically, those users who use a single hand to insert the tampon applicator into a body cavity and expel the tampon from the tampon applicator, will often grasp the grip area of the tampon applicator between the sides of two fingers and use the thumb on the same hand to push the inner tube to expel the tampon from the applicator. Alternatively, a user who uses one hand may grasp the grip area of the tampon applicator with the thumb and middle finger and expel the tampon by pushing the inner tube with the index finger. Other techniques for insertion of the tampon into the vagina may also be used. Each of these methods presents separate issues for use of the tampon applicator in terms of slippage. For example, slippage of the hand or fingers holding the grip area during insertion and removal of the tampon applicator into a body cavity can result in the users hand hitting sensitive parts of the body or resulting in cuts or lacerations due to fingernails or jewelry present on the users hands coming into contact with the body of the user. Slippage during expulsion of the tampon from the applicator can result in similar injuries and can also result in the tampon applicator being pushed too far into the user's body, resulting in an internal injury to the user.
As a result, there is a need in the art for a tampon applicator which has grip areas that will provide protection against slippage in the hands of a user during each of insertion of the tampon applicator into the user's vagina; expulsion of the tampon from the tampon applicator; and removal of the tampon applicator from the vagina. In addition, there is a need in the art to provide a tampon applicator which will provide reduced slippage or slippage protection to the user no mater how the tampon applicator is held in the grip area during use. The present invention provides a tampon applicator which will provided protection against slippage during the insertion of the tampon applicator into the vagina, the expulsion of the tampon from the tampon applicator into the vagina and the removal of the tampon applicator from the vagina after the tampon has been expelled.
Some currently available tampon applicators have an insertion tip at the explusion end of the outer tube of the applicator. The insertion tip typically has four or more petals and the petals are generally formed with gaps or silts between each of the petals. These gaps or slits are typically parallel with the longitudinal axis of the tampon applicator and are linear. The currently available tampon applicators with an insertion tip typically have petals which are designed to be thin and flexible, to provide for smooth insertion of the tampon applicator into the user's vagina. The petals are designed to open with minimal force so that when the tampon is expelled from the applicator, the petals do not provide a large resistance that makes it difficult to remove the tampon from the tampon applicator. However, the currently available petal designs do create problems for some users. The currently available petals are perceived by users to be sharp and there is a potential that the petals could cause an injury, such as scraping, or scratching, to the vagina or external body tissue, such as the labia, during insertion. In addition, some users complain that the current petal designs result in pinching the vagina when the petals close after the tampon is expelled from the applicator. This may be a result of some of the currently available tampon applicators which have petals which may overlap one another before or during insertion into the vagina. As a result, there is a need in the art for a new petal design which will be perceived by the user to be softer, more comfortable, more flexible and less likely to pinch or otherwise injure the user's vagina and other sensitive body structure in the vaginal region of a user.